With increasing popularity of paintball tournaments as well as professional trainings such as military and athletic competitions, more accurate and realistic looking paintball guns or markers are in demand. For example, success in training or competition typically rests largely upon the speed in which an operator of a paintball marker can eliminate opponents by marking them with paint via paintballs or paint projectiles. A problem associated with a conventional paintball marker is ball damage (or chop) before it is launched or propelled by a marker.
A conventional paintball gun or marker typically loads the paintball into a loading chamber either by gravity from a top-load hopper, or by forced-fed loaders from a magazine. After loading, pressurized gas is guided through the control of a firing mechanism to propel the paintball out of the barrel. A problem associated with a conventional paintball marker is that as the paintball marker being carried and moved around, the paintball in the loading chamber may be dislodged from its original intended loading position, and may become misaligned with the firing mechanism. For example, when a bolt hits or impacts a paintball which is misaligned with the barrel or the barrel coupling system, the paintball may be chopped before it leaves the gun through the barrel. As a result, misaligned paintballs are often chopped or crushed inside the paintball gun during the process of firing or launching.
Another drawback associated with a conventional paintball marker is that the paintball in the loading chamber may move into the gun barrel prematurely due to the movement of the marker. For example, when the gun barrel is pointed downward, the paintball in the loading chamber may roll out of the barrel. Chopped and/or leaking paintballs can jam the firing mechanism of the marker causing it malfunction.